DOHA, Qatar, 2 February 2008 — Tom Boonen of Belgium won the Tour of Qatar yesterday after capturing his third stage victory in the six-day cycling race.
The Quick Step rider won in an overall time of 15 hours, 27 minutes, 44 seconds to beat Alberto Loddo of Italy by 1:22. Luciano Pagliarini of Brazil was third, 2:02 back from Boonen.
Boonen covered the 101-kilometer (63-mile) sixth stage in 2:49:47 for his 16th overall stage victory in five years after winning the second and third earlier this week.
“Winning in Qatar is something that has become a habit now,” Boonen said. “My team has done well here in Qatar. The last few years have been good for us.”
Teammate Steven De Jongh of the Netherlands finished second in the sixth stage, 27 seconds behind, with Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium a further 13 seconds back in third place.
Boonen said he struggled in Friday’s windy conditions. “For the last three kilometers, I had to go at least 15 times on the outside (of the other riders), so I lost a lot of energy,” he said. “The last kilometer proved so fast and the guys were leading me out perfectly. It was really hard to keep up the speed. I managed to finish just in time.”
Meantime, reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, who has signed for the disgraced Astana team, will not be a guaranteed a starting place in the 2008 race.
Patrice Clerc, the president of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) which oversees the epic competition, said that selection for the Tour de France was based on teams rather than an individual pedigree.
“When we make our selection, we don’t pick individual riders but rather the teams,” said Clerc. “Let us have the time to calmly make our decision.” Complicating the situation is the fact that the Spanish rider now competes for the Astana team after joining on a two-year contract at the end of last year from the Discovery Channel outfit.
